Nokia Lumia 630 – a decent smartphone with Windows Phone 8.1

Nokia Lumia 630 is the direct successor of Lumia 620 and as the new model, it is better regarding almost all specifications: it has a new and more powerful processor (a Qualcomm Snapdragon quad-core, 1.2 GHz), a larger screen of 4.5’’, ClearBlack, with the IPS LCD technology, a slightly higher resolution (854 x 480 pixels) and it also comes equipped with the Gorilla Glass 3 .

The battery also has a somewhat larger capacity of 1830 mAh. There are also specifications unchanged between the two phones, such as the amount of RAM which is 512 MB and the available storage space, that one being of 8 GB.

Like its predecessor, the Lumia 630 has a radio chip that can be used for listening to FM radio. Unfortunately, the camera on this smartphone has no flash. Another change in the new model is that the Lumia 630 has no front camera and no physical buttons. With Windows Phone 8.1 have changed the specifications for the design of mobile phones and they will have software buttons, this phone is the first to meet these specifications.

Design

Nokia Lumia 630 phone casing is made of plastic and feels very good when you hold the phone. It has a height of 129.5 mm, a width of 66.7 mm, and a thickness of 9.2 mm and weighs just 134 grams. These features make it very easy to hold in your hand, even for people with small hands. The buttons are positioned on the right side of the phone and are easy to find and to use.

You can use the phone with one hand, without any problems. Unfortunately the physical camera button has disappeared, making starting it to be a slower process than with the previous phones having a Windows Phone 8 OS.

Display

The display quality is better than the Lumia 620, as well as the outdoor visibility. The only disadvantage is that Lumia 630 does not have a sensor for the amount of light available to automatically adjust screen brightness based on this. You will have to manually change the brightness when you go out or you go to the office, when you are home.

It’s slightly annoying to keep adjusting brightness every time you go out, to the office, or when you’re home. The positive side is that outdoor visibility is good even when it’s a sunny day, if you set brightness to maximum.

Audio

The telephone conversation quality is good when using Lumia 630. When listening to music or watching videos, the sound quality is decent. It has the same quality when recording sound. Like all models in the same price range, it does not offer software tools to improve the sound quality.
Rear camera can take photos and record video at 720p. The color palette is not that great and the pictures taken in lighting conditions different than ideal ones, do not have many details and their clarity suffers.

Battery Life

If we talk about the battery, let’s say that you can rely on it all day until discharged. If you use the phone in a more intense mode, then autonomy will drop somewhere between 10:13 hours, depending on what you do with your phone.

Software and apps

Lumia 630 comes with Windows Phone 8.1 and Lumia Cyan , these two promising a superior experience and a more efficient use of the Lumia smartphone.

You will also have access to the collection of Nokia applications which is very well maintained and updated. Most Nokia applications are useful and worth trying. Nokia Camera is set as the default app for photographs, being absolutely superior to the Windows Phone 8.1 application and allows customization in a complex way of the mode to make pictures.

Conclusion ?

It is not the fastest nor the slowest phone. Applications load in a reasonable time and the phone works fine even when you start multiple applications simultaneously. The only downside is that it has 512 MB of RAM, not 1GB. Additional memory would have been a plus for most graphic demanding games.

Overall, the user experience is greatly enhanced by the new Windows Phone 8.1, even if it has small bugs to be solved. If we look only at the operating system, the Lumia 630 is a much better phone than its predecessors.

Tests performed on the benchmark program for graphics, memory and storage showed that Lumia 630 is the performance leader in its price segment versus its competitors.

Compared with previous models, the Lumia 630 is superior in terms of performance offered and about the same when it comes to use autonomy and speed of web browsing.

Nokia Lumia 630 is an affordable smartphone regarding price and quality.Also this smartphone is the leader in its segment when talking price, and the build quality is better than its predecessors. It is also the first phone with Windows Phone 8.1 preinstalled. This new version of the operating system brings many new features and improvements that enrich the user experience.

For those who do not have a generous budget but want a smart phone with good performance the new Nokia Lumia 630 is an excellent choice.